Racial Injustice and Inequality in the United States

Introduction: Race, Stigma, and Bodily Labor

Most people in the world depend on the use of their bodies to earn money. Professionals such as factory workers, lawyers, and doctors use various aspects of their physical and intellectual capacities and receive wages in return. Notably, some people acquire good wages while others do not. Similarly, some individuals have little control over their jobs while others enjoy considerable autonomy. This variation also extends to the range of employment options available to a person — some have more choices than others. Beyond economics, some people are socially stigmatized while others are not. Although well-reasoned arguments might justify the stigmatization of certain occupations, many significant cases are rooted in prejudice and stereotypes of race and gender (Nussbaum, 1998).

This paper discusses the injustices and inequality of race in the United States, drawing on ideas from Whether from Reason or Prejudice: Taking Money for Bodily Services by Martha C. Nussbaum as well as Rubén Martínez's journalistic account, "The Crossing."

Some professionals — particularly performers such as pop singers and opera singers — must be compensated for the likelihood of race-based prejudice they face. Such prejudice has also been made visible through the increasing number of police killings throughout the United States. The current struggle against inequality and injustice rooted in racism mirrors the country's long history of genocide directed toward indigenous peoples and enslaved African people. These historical patterns have also been accompanied by the ongoing oppression of immigrant workers.

Racial Inequality and Police Violence

The phenomenon of racially biased police killings in the U.S. has intensified in recent years. The renewed public uprising against racially motivated police violence reflects the deepening cases of inequality and injustice experienced by communities of color across the country (Nussbaum, 1998). As Nussbaum observes, race and class have been integrated into the design of economic, political, and social relations — and the inequalities produced by these arrangements worsen as the economy develops.

Political polarization is intensifying at an alarming rate across the United States and around the globe. Racial discrimination has deeply infected public institutions, and it has most severely affected African Americans. The inequality and injustice that diminishes the humanity of Black communities is rooted in a historical tradition of white supremacy that has long oppressed them.

Various indicators reveal that the United States treats its citizens unequally. Among the most pressing trends in the current economy are wealth inequality and mass incarceration. The current justice system allows hyper-wealthy individuals to evade accountability for massively destructive fraud, while poverty itself has effectively been criminalized. Concrete figures illustrate the scale of wealth disparity. African Americans and Mexican Americans are among the poorest communities in the country. Before the enactment of anti-discrimination laws, racial bias by employers was pervasive — many white employers refused to hire Black workers and stereotyped them as prone to violence and destruction.

Wealth Disparity and Economic Injustice

When income disparities are examined by race, the median Black household income stood at $35,416 in 2014 — approximately 60% lower than the median white household income. The Black unemployment rate stood at 11.4%, roughly double the white unemployment rate of 5.3%. The killing of a Black teenager by a white police officer became another stark example of institutionalized injustice (Nussbaum, 1998).

Since 1998, the Department of Defense has provided $5.1 billion in equipment to state and local police forces. Critics argue that this militarization serves the interests of corporate elites rather than ordinary citizens — particularly Black Americans who lack the political and financial power to influence local, national, and international institutions. The racially charged case of Ferguson is not an isolated incident; it represents a broader pattern of racial inequality enforced through state violence. Addressing this reality requires political education connected to organized political struggle (Nussbaum, 1998).

Rubén Martínez's article "The Crossing" examines the lives of non-white people living near the U.S.–Mexico border. Americans, Native Americans, Mexicans, and non-Mexicans alike live or pass through this zone. The article chronicles the difficult experiences migrants face as they move from Mexico into the United States and documents the fear they carry toward Americans. Martínez describes encountering migrants who hid from him until he convinced them he was affiliated with the Samaritan patrol — an activist group working to prevent the deaths of non-white migrants crossing the desert (Martínez, 2006).

Conclusion: Ongoing Inequality and Institutional Reform

In sum, racial injustice and inequality persist across economic, legal, and social dimensions of American life. Addressing these realities requires not only legal reform but also political education, community organizing, and a genuine reckoning with the historical and institutional roots of racial discrimination in the United States.

Martínez, R. (2006). The crossing. The Los Angeles Times, June 25, 2006.

Nussbaum, M. C. (1998). "Whether from reason or prejudice": Taking money for bodily services. Journal of Legal Studies, XXVII, 693–724.